Trolley.



No. 637,8l2. Patented Nov. 28, I899.

r. H. MERRILL & F. P. woonsoma.

T B O L L E Y.

(Application filed my. 20, 1899.;

(No Model.)

Inventor's LpMM/W, H v

T Vifizesesees:

UNITED STATES PATENT @FFICE.

FRANK H. MERRILL AND FRANK P. WOODSOME, or PORTLAND, MAINE.

TROLLEY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 637,812, dated Novemberas, lees.

Application filed March 20, 1899. $eria1No. 709,770. (No model.)

To all whom it mayconcern:

Be it known thatwe, FRANK H. MERRILL and FRANK P. WOODSOME, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Portland, in the county of Cumberland andState of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inTrolleys; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Ourinvention relates to improvements in trolleys and is designedespecially to be applied to the trolley-base, so as to prevent thetrolley-wheel from losing the wire through the vertical vibration of thetrolley pole, which usually occurs when the car is running at a highrate of speed or when it takes curves and switches.

It consists of a pivoted yoke with diverging arms suitably attached tothe base of the trol ley-head, the yoke being so hung as to allow thediverging arms to extend upwardly on each side of the harp and when thetrolley is in contact with the wire to extend above the same, means forkeeping said yoke and diverging arms in an upright position, and incertain other details of construction, which will be hereinafter morefully set forth and described.

In the drawings herewith accompanying and forminga part of thisapplication, Figure l is a side elevation of our improved deviceattached to the trolley-head, the dotted lines showing the position ofthe arms when forced down by a switch or supporting-wire. Fig. 2 is arear end elevation of our improved device. Fig. 3 is a ,detail showingthe means of attaching our improved arms to the trolley-head. Fig. 4 isa detail of means employed by us to prevent the arms from having toomuch of a forward movement.

Same letters of reference refer to like parts in all the figures.

In said drawings, A represents a trolleyhead having a suitable shank B,adapted to be fitted into the ordinary trolley-pole in any of thewell-known ways. Mounted in the harp C of the trolley is a suitabletrolleywheel D. Attached to the base of the trolley above the shank is aclamp-plate E. This plate is made in two sections, as seen in Fig.

3, and is provided with a rectangular opening F, so as to allow theshank of the trolleyhead to be inserted therein. In order to have theclamp fit tightly above the shank and, further,to thoroughly insulatethe clamp from the trolley, we fill the rectangular opening with someinsulating material, as shown at G in said Fig. 3. Both sections of theclamp are provided with screw-holes H, which register with each other,and bolts I to set one plate upon the other and compress them againstthe shank. Made integral with one of the members of the clamp is acurved bracket J, provided with a T-post- K on its free end, its endbeing provided with sockets L for the reception of pins M. Pivotallyattached to the -T-post by means of the pins M is the yoke N, providedwith diverging arms 0 anda weighted base P. 7 Our object in making thebase portion weighted is to overcome the tendency of the diverging armsto assume a position other than a vertical one. These diverging armsextend upwardly and above the rim of the trolley-wheel and serve toprevent the trolley from leaving the wire. The upper part of the armsare made to flare outwardly, so as to easily receive the trolley-Wirewhen the trolley is being placed in position and are provided with anoverhang Q on their inner sidethat is, the side nearest thetrolley-wheel-which overhangs and extends a short distance over the rimsof the wheel. Our object in providing the arms with this overhang is toprevent the trolleywire from getting between the wheel and the arms,should by any chance the wheel leave the wire, and binding. In order toprevent the yoke from moving too far forward and, further, to assist inholding the yoke vertical, we provide the T-post with a lip R, extendinglongitudinally across its upper side, and the arms with lugs S, as seenin Fig. 4: in the drawings. It will be seen that by this means the yokeand its diverging arms are prevented from swinging too far forward andcatching on supporting-wires or switches. Attached to the lower part ofthe weighted base is an eye T, in which is fastened the trolleycord U.This gives an additional weight on the pivot-arm and, further, tends tokeep the yoke and arms in an upright position and render it almostimpossible for the arms to be in other than an upright position, exce"ptwhen they are going under switches and sup-- porting-wires.

Our improved device can be readily and easily attached to anytrolley-pole, it only being necessary to bolt the clamp about theshank-,th'e yoke being adjusted on it"sbra'cke't before the device isattached to the trolley.

The arms normally extending above the wheel allow a vertical movement ofsome distance in the pole, thereby reducing to a.

minimum the chance of the trolley leaving the wire.

Having thus described our invention and its use, we claim- 1. In atrolley, in combination, a head, a Wheel mounted therein, an insulatedclamp attached to the base of said head, a curved bracket made integralwith said clamp and provided with a T post on its free end, a swinging.yoke with diverging arms and a weighted base pivotally attached to thearms of said T-post, lips on said diverging arms overhanging the rimofthe wheel and means for limiting the forward movement of the yokesubstantially as and for the purposes set forth. V l

2. In a trolley, in combination, a head, a

curved bracket attached to said headand insul-ated therefrom and havingapost on its freeend, a yoke with diverging arms, andweighted basepivotally attached to said post, a lip on said post, lugs on saiddiverging arms adapted to contact withsaid lip to limit the forwardmovement of said yoke, sub- I stantially as and for the purposes setforth.

In a trolley, in combination, a head, a wheel mounted therein, a bracketrigidly at tached to said head andinsulated therefrom andhavin-g aT-post at its free end, a yoke having diverging arms and a weighted base

